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Ther is a ray of hope today in that UAW and GM resolved the strike issue so quickly. Quite a contrast to the U of M, where AFSME workers were on strike for about 2 weeks and had to give in to The Man.

On Monday night, the Twin Cities theatre community celebrated with the 3rd annual Ivey Awards. Scott Mayer came up with the idea a few years ago to simply celebrate local theatre. The awards are not pre-determined — shows are seen by 100 volunteer evaluators who rate them, and then awards are given to those who rise to the top in any kind of production. This year, awards ranged to things like sound design for a small local theatre, choreography for "High School Musical" at CTC, and of course actors and productions. A set designer got the emerging artist award, and Sheila Livingston, a long-time fixture at the Guthrie in education and one of the most generous and dedicated women you will ever meet, got the Lifetime Achievement award. It was…

We got a new dog, for any number of reasons. We had been thinking of it, then put it off with the baby. But then this guy came up on Craig's List, and it just seemed right. He is very smart, well trained, and a lot of fun; when we took him on a walk yesterday we were commenting on his true zest for life. He thinks the sun rises and sets with Patrick (a little hero-worship never hurt anyone). I think he is cheering up Roy, and the cats hate him but will adjust. The only downside is his name — Geronimo — but as I said, he is smart and well-trained, and doesn't really respond to anything else (though we've tried things like Jumanji and Lemonjello).

Today I am thinking of my friend E., who left today for a year in the Democratic Republic of Congo with the Center for Victims of Torture. I know she is both excited and scared, and I am really proud of her for doing something concrete to make the world a better place.

Can you please hold some heart/thought space this weekend for my friend K? She lost a child late last year soon after he was born, a wonderful, beautiful baby boy. She is a fantastic mother, wife, person, and friend — and she is also fairly newly pregnant and in a little bit of limbo where HCG levels and ultrasounds are inconclusive. So for the past several days, and for the next few, all she can do is wait for tests. I think I can conclusively say that no one deserves to go through this less than she does. So let's all put our heads together and convince the universe to give K and her husband a break!

Everyone knows the usual ones, like no making yourself blotto on shots of Jagermeister. No sushi. But it wasn't until I got pregnant that I realized how many more there were — no deli meat, no sleeping on your back, no household cleaners, no ibuprofen...

We are facing kind of a dilemma in preparing the nursery. Patrick severely exacerbated his back issues last night carrying out the plaster pieces of debris from the wall repair (which, you guessed it, I am not supposed to do because of the weight and the potential asbestos used to bind the horsehair into the plaster). The poor guy is almost dead, and I feel SO bad. There is no way he is going to be able to (or I am going to let him) sand the woodwork, which needs to happen so we can paint it and encapsulate the lead paint — and yes, sanding leaded paint is a pretty severe no if you are pregnant. So I am not sure what to do next.

Last night I got to go to Kincaid's fort late night happy hour and have one of their virgin pomegranate mojitos. I first had one at lunch with my friend Julie a few weeks back and was hooked! They taste incredible — just like the real (sigh) thing — and it was so nice to sit in a nice restaurant bar, watching the lights across the park, and have a lovely drink.

- Finally getting Patrick's house ready to sell. We finished work on it, finished staging, had someone from Craigslist take down trees in exchange for the firewood, took stuff to compost, posted free furniture on Craigslist, and put together a brochure.

Asking price $204,900. Open house next Sunday 9/9 from 1-3 (we are pre-listing it to family and friends before using a realtor).

Brochure at:http://patrickrhone.com/files/twelfth230.pdf

More pics at:http://gallery.mac.com/buddha#100037&bgcolor=black&view=mosaic&sel=0

- Getting great shade plants on sale at the farmer's market and filling out the back bed. Also got new arborvitae and holly from Home Depot to replace the ones that died, and transplanted rhubarb from Patrick's. Although the back faucet does not work, we strung hoses back, which enabled us to water well.

- Ripping out the crappy linoleum in the nursery. It looks so much better! I also me…